The Anatomy of Hair and why more than one treatment is necessary. Hairaway Canada provides some answers.

There are one or two important things you should know on the microscopic level.

Hair grows rather like the dead corneal layer of the skin: cells flatten and keratinise which as defined by the dictionary means to undergo a type of change.  Nails grow in a similar way.

A germinal layer in the proliferative zone of the bulb continuously produces cells. Melanin is produced by melanocytes in the bulb, the cells keratinise ( undergo a change), include the melanin and form the shaft of the hair.

The hair goes through a growth phase called ANAGEN and whilst in this phase continues to grow longer, then stops growing and starts to shrink away from the proliferative area of the bulb. This is called CATAGEN. The hair then enters the final phase during which it falls out: this is TELOGEN.

It is only when the hair is in anagen that there is good physical proximity between the hair and its germinal cells. These germinal cells have to be destroyed for the follicle to cease producing hair. For these reasons, hair must be in the active growth phase or anagen for the medical laser treatment offered by Hairaway Canada at its clinic in Unionville, Markham to be successful. Only a proportion of hairs are in the stage of growth at any one time. For this reason more than one treatment is required for a good percentage of the hairs to be permanently removed.